


Breakneck Jubilation

by suguear8



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, Coby isn’t a Marine, Coby spelled Koby, Corruption, Fix-It, Gen, Haki (One Piece), M/M, Multi, Non-Canon Lore, One Piece Spoilers, Pirates, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Voice of All Things (One Piece)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28276953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suguear8/pseuds/suguear8
Summary: “Oh, is this someone familiar to you?”The wanted poster crinkles under the Strawhat captain’s careful pluck, the paper tearing away from the nail used to pin it as he stared at the worn ink upon the tanned sheet.The bounty isn’t too high, in fact it was impressive for the person it was for. Yet that wasn’t what caught Luffy’s eyes, it was the image and name printed in bold ink for the world to see.“Koby,” Nico reads out for the younger to hear. “With a bounty of 270 million berri.”
Relationships: Coby & Gin (One Piece), Coby & Monkey D. Luffy, Coby & Original Character(s), Coby & Portgas D. Ace, Gin & Original Character(s), Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Original Character(s), Nami & Coby (One Piece)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 37





	1. innocent proclamations to which the sea ignores

**Author's Note:**

> so.. maybe i started a new fic..
> 
> ive been wanting to do some koby content for myself and thought this would be nice :) plus ill return to my other fics when this one is done. this one is kinda like a ... christmas gift/new year wrap up for me

“Being a marine sounds boring,” there’s a soft inhale, followed by a chuckle as the voice continues. “ _ Why not jus’ be a pirate with me _ ?” 

There’s gritty sand between the heel and toes of his feet, and his hair tickles his cheeks when the ocean air combs through the candy pink strands. Even without his purple-framed specks so respectfully perched on his nose, his vision was clear enough to see the smirk carving into the sun-kissed skin and cocoa brown eyes that curved with enthusiasm. 

The boy is wearing a worn tank top with a shoddily embroidered animal etched onto the front, one that screams  _ hand-me-down _ , and his shorts are not any more lavish. That’s expected though, on an easily forgotten island with an amount of villages that you can count on just one hand, where people remembered your face and treated you with just as much love as they did with their own family. 

Koby’s attire isn’t any different, albeit he’s got a dumb elephant on the sleeves of his baby blue tee shirt and there’s a small tear on the right side of his shorts from when he got it caught on a tree branch. 

This is his childhood, an everyday routine of either helping out in his mother’s garden and admiring the local fishermen review their fishing gear before pushing away from the dock to snare up dinner or running around with a stick in his hand whilst his imagination ran rampant, declaring to the unresponsive world that he will be the best in the marines. The boy likes to think that the origins of a hero doesn’t matter, so despite how small and easily neglected this island was— he could still rein as one of the strongest marines upon the sea!

With the strength he uses pulling grown vegetables out of the moist soil for lunch, he’ll use the same strength to beat up those bad guys that marines supposedly combat almost everyday! 

He’ll use his powerful presence to scare away even the most powerful pirates, a finger pointed at the horizon as he commanded that the ship steer towards the sun, a mission to seek justice! 

Clarse pokes him between his furrowed brows with the washed up stick of wood they found on the shore only an hour ago, the older boy snickering at Koby’s fuming expression. The action clearly wipes away any enthusiasm the pink-haired boy had, instead it’s replaced with the overbearing need to defend his dream— that being a marine was honorable, not  _ boring _ . 

Yes, that’s his name.  _ Clarse _ .

In his head, it sounds more  _ dumb _ than regal or menacing. 

Later on Koby will try to sound it out, his voice obnoxiously stretching the simple name to a humiliatingly joking “claaaw-aar-sss”. 

“You just don’t get it huh!” Koby scoffs, turning away from the brunette to look beyond the shallow waves and into the blue sea only separated from the lighter tone of the sky. The boy suddenly harbors a dopey smile, eyes fluttering closed for only a second; but it’s  _ enough _ . It’s enough to imagine himself with the cape-like marine coat on, as well as the royal blue slacks paired with shined shoes that offered powerful resonant footsteps. “Being a marine  _ has _ to be one of the coolest things ever!” 

Koby’s eyes immediately open and he turns back to Clarse, who’s sporting an unimpressed expression. The boy gets into a scolding position, ready to stab a finger into the older boy’s chest and point out every benefit and amazing tales that he hears about the navy from passing store ships that happened to drop by the island for requested supplies. 

“As a marine, you can kick absolute butt! You can be strong, a leader, and you are a hero! You can protect people just by glaring at the enemy, like how  _ cool _ is that!” 

The older boy just yawns, which only results in Koby’s small bunched fist to pound the top of his head. Clarse’s only response is a sudden groan, the stick abandoned in favor of cradling the wound atop of the brown locks.

“At least  _ pretend _ you’re listening!” 

Clarse groans even louder, “who said I wasn’t!” 

“You literally yawned by the end of my speech! I-if that doesn’t scream  _ unattentive _ , then I don’t know what could.” 

The waves crash against each other loudly, and the brunette finally finds something to add when it comes to the spheal Koby had completely spun up about the heroic figures on the sea, named  _ marines _ . 

The stick is plucked up again, and Clarse offers a lop-sided smile. 

“Well.. it’s not like you  _ have _ to be a marine to do any of those things y’know?” 

At that, Koby grunts, arms raised to cross because he already knows where this will go. 

Where Koby wants to wear a long white coat with an embroidered ‘Justice’ on the back and polished metals clasped on his shirt atop his right breast, Clarse wants his face to bear the tanned paper of a wanted sign and to steer a crew of pirates into the depths of the seas to conquer. 

Maybe the image of a shiny hook hand envelops his mind, as well the enthralling visions of stolen treasures. The mugs of alcohol filled to the brim, either spilling onto a wooden deck or down the throat of a proud pirate. 

Distinctly, Koby knows that’s not the main thing that Clarse sees when the boy closes his eyes. 

Koby knows that behind those eyelids, there’s a world where Clarse can protect people without the law getting in the way— without a line looming over him with the threat that one wrong step over it will end in vain. 

Clarse isn’t stupid, being older exposes you to understanding the newspapers that the grown ups read better. He can understand each line that describes the tragedy that followed behind a “victory for the marines”, the exposed corruption evident when details about dirty soldiers bribed to keep quiet when a pirate decides to wreak havoc. 

He can find blame in the pirate, but he finds that the blame is heavier on the marine. 

The brunette instead smiles wider once he opens his eyes again, half lidded as he directs his gaze to Koby’s waiting expression. 

“Why not just become a pirate with me? It’ll be fun to have a wanted poster!” 

The older of the two laughs when Koby makes a disgruntled face, an obviously disapproving emotion in his eyes as he watches Clarse chortle. Still, the pink-haired boy finds the energy for the corner of his lips to turn upwards in a soft smile, one that a seven year old shouldn’t be sporting so easily. 

“I guess I’ll just have to be the marine that takes you in! ‘ _ Esteemed pirate Clarse _ ’!” 

The brunette snorts, the wooden stick pointed at the younger boy with an entertained grin. 

“What an honor, ‘ _ commander Koby _ ’!” 

That sentiment doesn’t change as the two grow up, chasing each other with wooden sticks and declaring war upon each other. It’s obviously not filled with hate, because by the end of their playing— their arms are around each other’s necks and they’re laughing on the way back to Koby’s cottage where Clarse was invited to stay for dinner. 

Best friends look past that, they see the character behind the title. Behind the blabber about being a hero, wearing a sleek suit and angelic white draped over his shoulders; Koby is just like an ordinary child with perhaps a more innocent gleam to his wide smile. Despite the qualms and made up adventures about being a pirate, Clarse’s laughter resonates like calm river streams. 

His mother doesn’t sport the same bubbly pink hair, but Koby most definitely inherited her deep eyes that seem so dark that an abyss-like black seems to be the only color residing within. Yet if the sunlight hit Koby’s eyes  _ just _ right, a jeweled amethyst would replace the dark color. 

However Clarse is a spitting image of his father when he was younger, the only difference being the burly beard that the old man is just  _ so _ insistent on keeping. His mother’s freckles weren’t passed on, but Koby likes to believe that pieces of the woman’s kind personality followed her son. 

The brunette is enjoying the citrusy taste of freshly squeezed juice, feet kicking as he sits on the porch beside an exhausted Koby. Their hands were only dirty thanks to the sudden harvest in the gardens around Koby’s home, his mother with her gardening gloves and exclaiming that the entourage of potatoes and rooted crops were most definitely going to catch attention at the market in the town. 

“How’s your mother been doing, Clarse? I heard she hasn’t been well enough to attend to her fruit stand.” 

There’s never a bad part in a hero’s story, but for Clarse— this was one of the sadder parts. His fingers shook, and he stilled for only a moment before deciding that being scared of speaking wasn’t ideal.

“She’s just a bit sick, can’t get up for more than a few hours.” Niochi’s brows scrunched up in concern, sipping a glass of water that Koby also decided to indulge in as well. The mother of the pinkette offered a comforting smile though, ruffling the dark caramel strands of hair that seemed to shape Clarse’s innocent expression. “Though me an’ dad has got it under control, says that  _ ‘a few damn apples won’t get his back to break’ _ .” 

The boys listen to the woman’s laugh, which is hearty and still so heavenly. It’s no secret that she was beautiful, and the expectations of what a proud mother would be. Despite carrying Koby and their lives on her shoulders since her husband passed long ago, her calloused hands feel more like a quilted blanket than a chipped rock when p she pet the boys atop of their heads. Her long black hair that resembled ink swimming down her back, and a few loose strands framing her face.

Clarse watched the woman ruffle the top of Koby’s hair even though the boy protested, thin lips curled into a joyous smile. 

“We can make some soup for Clarse’s mother,” Niochi hums, popping the knuckles in her hands. “Make it a sort.. ‘get well soon’ gift!” 

The brown-haired boy’s quick to decline, but the woman is quicker to hush him. 

“It’s fine! You guys are practically family y’know?” 

Family. 

He grins at the thought, before giving a hesitant nod. 

“As long as I get to help..” 

Koby gives the older boy a bouncy nod, lips wide in a smile. That same smile that seemed to challenge the sea when it came to its brightness. 

Clarse is about twelve when he asks a seven year old Koby to be a pirate with him, to which the answer is “no”. 

Clarse is almost thirteen when he asks an older Koby the same question, only to get poked in the stomach with a stick and a stern “no!” erupts from the pink-haired boy. 

Clarse blows out a birthday candle on his messily frosted cake, two sets of parents cheering for him as well as a Koby mature enough to be able to pluck the wax sticks out without burning his fingers on the melted wax. 

“What’d you wish for?” He had cheerily asked, a fork digging into the cake as the boys sat outside. Niochi was happily pouring some alcohol for Clarse’s parents, who’re slapping her back in laughter when his mother tells a joke. 

A smirk, “for you to be a pirate with me.” 

All he receives is the same rejection, but in the form of a bonk atop of his head. 

Clarse is fifteen when he’s at the docks saying bye to a teary Koby, the both of them with watery eyes and trembling lips. Niochi is sharing a final glass of sake with his mother, who albeit ill and not as full of strength as before, still cradles the sake glass with a tough grin and downs it. 

Her illness didn’t ever go away, in fact according to the village doctor, it just kept eating at her health. It was out of the bounds of her knowledge though, telling Clarse’s family that she’d try and contact a more skilled doctor to help cure this woman. 

That doctor ended up being a few islands away, promising that with the right dosages and perfect diagnosis, he could have Clarse’s mother healthier than ever. 

The brunette boy promised Koby that it’d only be a few months, maybe a year if it had to— but they’d get back to playing Marine vs. Pirate before he knew it. 

“But what if you d-don’t come back?” Koby sniffled, his glasses seemed so useless against the blurriness that tears brought. His hands reached to wipe away any unnecessary tears dribbling down his cheeks, and looked to the older boy for an answer. 

There’s a pout on his face, before Clarse smiles. 

“Well,” the sea finds that now is the perfect time to send a gentle breeze over them, making Clarse’s hair flutter around and Koby’s hair messily sprawl on his cheeks. “I guess you’ll just have to find me, right?  _ ‘Commander Koby’ _ ?” 

Koby doesn’t necessarily know what that means, emotionally wise. Clarse’s face would be another one in the crowds of people, and his laughter would mix into the music that excreted out of noisy bars. 

Yet he’s not one to give up so easily, the boy carries on his life just as he used to. Sure he’s a bit more lonely, and there’s no one to chase Koby around in a game of tag. Clarse breaks his promise of returning by the time Koby’s fifteen, yet there’s another promise remaining in his mind. 

_ Well I guess you’ll just have to find me _ , Clarse’s childish tone echoes through the pinkette’s head as Koby sloppily mops the wooden deck upon Alvida’s obnoxious ship. The grotesque woman curses out his name, and Koby’s grip on his mop is tight in both fear and anger. 

_ Right _ ,  _ Commander Koby _ ?

There’s a laughter that follows it, lost to the sea when Alvida demands he bring her some wine. 

  
  



	2. a rubbery smile, arrival another reminder of who still waits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Koby’s savior grins as if even the world couldn’t stop him from becoming the King of the Pirates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... yeah um... hehe

The sea rocks itself to sleep, blue waters stretched far and wide as if attempting to swallow every inch of the world. 

_Inescapable_ , that’s what Koby had heard when the waves crashed against the wood of Alvida’s ship. With no land for miles, and nothing aside from the mysterious crystal clear yet dark depths, there is no escape. 

Yet Luffy had torn one open for him, despite probably never realizing just how powerful a simple punch against Alvida’s cheek was to this feeble Koby, who could only quiver in fear. The kid with a straw hat who stared at the woman who plagued Koby’s nerves for more months than he could count and merely swung her into the air until even her silhouette resembled that of just another bird in the sky. 

Staring at the strong (and perhaps _oblivious_ ) back of this wide-grinned stranger, the pink-haired boy could only find admiration brewing in his chest for the freedom that Luffy cradled in his very palm. 

Luffy didn’t hesitate to throw enemies so far that they flew above the clouds, and he also didn’t hesitate to answer Koby’s rattling voice when they sat in the cruise ship’s pantry— “ _Do you think I could be a marine?_ ” —eyes burning into the younger boy’s cowardly form, only to shrug and say maybe. 

The sea rocked itself to sleep, but Koby was far from asleep. 

Just hours ago, he was freed from that woman’s clutches and now enduring the voiceless waves that pushed the small wooden boat towards whatever destination was next. Luffy is snoring away across from him, the worn out hat atop of his inky hair and doing well to act as a shield over his youthful expression. 

“What a day..” the boy hummed, fingers coming to pull at the threads at the ends of his shirt. He couldn’t wait to change out of these dirty clothes and finally sail back home, to where that small village was residing and silently living beneath the sunlight. 

There’s a snore that escapes the boy across from him, who mumbles something about meat. It was entertaining, and familiar. 

Koby wanted to listen into the mysterious and affectionate sleepy mumbles that Luffy seemed to never run out of, fingers twitching as if to grab something away as the rubber boy dreamed deeply. It was like piecing a story together as his murmurs became lost thanks to the gentle splashing of waves. 

A wet snort, “no.. ‘ce you can’t have the… meat..” 

The younger watched as the ravenette’s hand seemed to twitch and then clasp into a fist, before saliva dribbling lips curled into a smile and the sleeping boy cheered. 

There’s doubt brewing in Koby’s soul about what Luffy had declared earlier, but he can feel that it isn’t impossible. He just couldn’t wrap his head around this thin rubber stick becoming a man so powerful that even ‘The King of The Pirates’ seemed like a title too little for this kid. 

He doesn’t know why he can feel Luffy’s soul as if he sat snug next to him, but he can feel a passion so hot that it was _boiling_. The warmth was inches away from Koby’s grasp if he reached out, but the tips of his fingers could be tickled by the lava-like heat that Luffy’s radiated. 

The pink-haired boy smiles, albeit shakily. 

Then he thought of another smile. 

It was an argument, a hopeless one because both of the participants knew the answer. 

(Clarse was always the more calm of the two, never falling to the level of someone four years older than him. Despite all of it though, his points weren’t neglecting emotion. 

“Not all marines are bad!” He remembers screaming when the brunette brought up all the corruption and abuse of power that’s pasted into the newspapers. Despite the articles originating from other seas and most likely dramatized by the time it reached the East Blue , it never ceased Clarse’s distrust towards those ‘angels’ wearing white and royal blue. 

Koby also remembers his childhood friend shaking his head before relaxing his shoulders, his chin in his hand as he seemed to grow entertained by the pepper red anger splotched all over the pink-haired boy’s face. “Then we can settle for not all pirates are bad too, right?” 

Defeat was inevitable for both, because even if there isn’t always a bad apple— it’s a good apple that chose to roll around with the acidic bad apples in the bunch.) 

The boy fixed the way his glasses were perched on the bridge of his nose, dark eyes sliding over to Luffy’s now bundled up form. 

He finds that he can settle for the fact that not all pirates are bad, and not because Luffy simply threw Alvida so high that she quite possibly became another star in the atmosphere— but because he allowed Koby to take defense behind his back and stared at the pink-haired boy with no other prejudice except his weak form. He doesn’t blame him though, because his weak arms could barely lift an empty barrel. 

Monkey D. Luffy _is_ a good pirate, he could already feel it from that giddy grin and the warmth that didn’t even compare to Koby’s warmest blanket back at home. 

When Koby’s savior shivers, the pink-haired boy tosses him the thin sheet that has been folded under one of the boat’s seats. It seems to suffice as a blanket considering how Luffy immediately accepts it and lets it wrap around him, albeit sleepily. 

With the ocean sparing the pink-haired boy lots of time alone with his thoughts, listening to the sea sing as he shut his eyes. 

It’s not like sleep will come to him, but he’ll at least try and rest his eyes after all that’s happened today. The skin-chilling thought that had been creeping up his back and into his neck since Luffy let the sun shimmer upon him and made Koby remember that somewhere in the seas, there’s someone hopefully keeping their end of the promise. 

They’re probably sailing in a boat similar to his, or perhaps still at the bedside of his ill mother, maybe sculpting a name for himself. 

For the first time in years, Koby finally has the courage to ask the seas how his friend has been fairing in such a cruel world. It’s not verbal, because Koby doesn’t want to look over into the waves and see a dark inky water that seemed to go down for miles and miles. 

Just like always though, the waters don’t answer him. 

The dread returns to him, only making him wince. 

Clarse isn’t weak, he isn’t feeble. He’s stronger than Koby, so the boy knows he didn’t die. 

To that conclusion, he sighs and opens his eyes again to check the compass. The device’s pointer twitches, but nothing else seemed to have changed since the two boys decided to rest. 

The morning sun is soft as it rises to kiss the skin of all its light shines on, which includes Luffy’s lightly freckled face and Koby’s bubblegum pink hair. 

“I like this ‘Zoro’ guy!” The younger of the two let his shocked expression entertain Luffy, the straw hat wearer letting out a soft _‘shishishi’_ after the terrifying tale that the pinkette had just recited. The rumors of this pirate-hunter was supposed to get Luffy deterred from inviting this swordsman to be a part of his crew. “Sounds fun dontcha’ think?” 

Koby’s fingers pinch at the skin between his brows, finding that the ravenette’s eyes already held a glimpse of absolution. As if he knew that this single swordsman was going to be a perfect fit, despite never knowing the lad. 

He only sighs, turning to see the island growing closer. The smile on his face is small, but he doesn’t find any struggle in lightly paddling them towards the shore of the seemingly homey island. 

The wooden boat rocked against the shore, but Luffy didn’t waste any time in bouncing out like a bouncy ball and cheering at their arrival. 

Koby didn’t believe Luffy was dumb, though he couldn’t make that assumption solely on a few hours at sea with the self-proclaimed pirate. It just surprised the pinkette when Luffy recognized certain clusters of stars and pointed out that they were heading the wrong way when he looked up and saw they had grown farther from the North Star. 

Considering the fact that Luffy was planning to be a pirate captain, Koby was slightly grateful that he wouldn’t be the navigator. He could only imagine the hell his crew mates would experience if he was the one reading maps. 

The time that the pinkette was able to step atop of the land, he was hit with what he could’ve called deja vu and a sense of familiarity in the town that greeted them. Well, greeted _Koby_. 

It felt like coming home to that little island he lived on for years, the houses aligned and set beside lively markets. 

Distantly, he can hear cheery children chasing each other as nearest adults told them to settle down, albeit halfheartedly. He can feel the familial energy of the people, their bonds and how welcoming they were despite Luffy and he being strangers. 

“Do you seriously want to recruit the pirate hunter?” Koby quietly asked once more, confirming it more to himself because surely Luffy was probably too enthusiastic to realize his earlier proclamations. 

The taller ravenette tossed a gold coin at a fruit stand, the owner shakily catching it as Luffy’s rubber fingers grasped at a ruby red apple. 

“Shishi why not! This _Zoro_ guy sounds strong, and I only need the strongest!” 

The mere mention of Zoro caused an awkward wave of silence to brew over the market, gawking stares burning into the boys like lasers. The pinkette hurriedly elbowed Luffy in the ribs, although the rubber boy didn’t wince and only pouted. 

“You can’t just say that y’know!” Koby stared ahead, and momentarily found himself entranced with the sight of bread. He wasn’t hungry or anything, but he unconsciously patted down his pocket as if he’d find himself a wallet. “According to the news, there’s a Navy base here! Captain Axe-hand Morgan apparently.”

That only aroused more awkward stares and silence to fall over the two boys, Koby grabbing Luffy’s wrist and hurriedly escaping with confusion on his tongue. 

Why did the name of a marine cause the same reaction that Zoro had? It’s not like he didn’t understand why silence rose when it came to the pirate hunter, hell, thinking of the esteemed swordsman made chills creep up Koby even if he’s only known about him from shoddy East Blue newspapers and gossip. 

It didn’t take the two long for the pinkette to find out when just as Luffy swallowed the apple core whole, the tall wall of the base’s execution yard loomed over them. 

“W-we can’t just climb! This is official marine property!” 

Curse Koby and his morals, blood rising to his cheeks in embarrassment at his unnecessary concern considering how Luffy easily slung himself atop of the high wall. He could hear some laughter, but not from Luffy— it’s from the little brunette boy in his memories that would snicker at his adamant words about how great the marines are. 

It comes falling when Koby reaches the top, and he meets the gut-wrenching sight of the supposed terrifying swordsman. Tied up and beaten black and blue, eyes hidden away thanks to the black bandana wrapped around his head. The ropes bonded around his body were sure to leave his hands numb, and his stomach was thinned from not eating. 

Koby could barely stomach the sight, and Luffy’s smile fell into a thin line. 

The boy pushed up his glasses, and tried to writhe away from seeing the man. Meanwhile, Luffy was spotted slithering closer, with a curious but blank expression. 

“Be a part—”

A growl cuts Luffy off. 

“Leave me alone.” 

The ravenette seems to ponder it as if it wasn’t a demand, placing his chin in the space between his rubber thumb and pointer finger. 

“Don’ wanna.” 

The green hair atop of Zoro’s head is dirtied from perhaps weeks out in this dirt execution yard, and his glare from the shadow of his bandana was bound to scare anyone off. Anyone, except the recipient of that glare— who met his eyes blankly before it stretched into a smile. 

“I’ve decided, you’ll be a part of my pirate crew!” 

Koby spat out any breath he had, and swordsman stared at the ravenette with an expression filled with both annoyance and genuine disbelief at how _dumb_ the ravenette had to be to blurt something like _that_ out. 

Zoro’s about to argue, probably call Luffy stupid and discard that hearty claim. He’s a _pirate hunter_ , he has no business sailing the seas for anything aside from getting stronger and getting enough berries to eat a proper meal, he’s supposed to become the _strongest swordsman in the world_. 

“Big brother!” A little girl’s voice erupts, and Koby realizes that the creaky metal of a ladder is now beside him. In the child’s hand is a fresh plate of onigiri, her brown pigtails flowing behind her as she clambered over the wall and towards the swordsman with a smile sweeter than candy. “I brought you some food!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u to every 1 who read this, um... haha
> 
> i hope everyone had a good holiday, though if you didn’t that’s cool too. 
> 
> also im trying to follow canon as best as i can but if i got this part of romance dawn wrong then shit idk


	3. a choice is made, and the smell of the sea breeze still combs through his hair.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conclusion to Shelltown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sigh,, u guys are so positive it makes me shy to post
> 
> anyway i hope everyone had a wonderful new years despite how terrible it’s starting already..
> 
> warning, this chapter is kinda boring..?

What Koby learns is that Luffy does lack book smarts and natural instincts, but in its place is an aimless courage that stretches farther than his rubber limbs. He also learns that Zoro knows enough sense to not indulge in the ravenette’s soft ‘shishishi’ and outrageous claims to become a king, but he  _ does _ , and bites the woven handle of one of the swords Luffy retrieved.

The way they fight makes the pink-haired boy slightly anxious, because it’s in a weird sync. As if Captain and First Mate were decided by fate itself, considering how by the time they’re done— Axe-hand Morgan is out of commission and onlookers are understandably shocked. 

It was mostly a blur, but it’s when Helmeppo’s gun is aimed at his head that Koby remembers.

The barrel stares down at the side of his skull, dusted with gunpowder and Koby can’t help but writhe softly in fear. 

The blonde holding the weapon blabbers something that Koby can only hear traces of, because the pinkette’s focus is how close Helmeppo’s finger is to pulling the trigger. 

_ This isn’t where I’m seriously going to die right? _

That’s what he thinks as Zoro calls for Luffy, who’s got Axe-Hand on the ground by the fabric of his collar. 

Then there’s Morgan, who’s fuming as he rises when Luffy lets him go in favor of meeting Koby’s eyes, watching the gun quiver in Helmeppo’s grasp. 

Koby doesn’t say anything, and neither does Luffy. 

Morgan is tall, overwhelmingly tall. Koby begins to understand why this guy was so intimidating in the first place, why he was a powerhouse that was both relied on and feared by. 

For sure, Koby wanted to be a marine— but marines like  _ Morgan  _ deter him. Marines like Morgan, who terrorized his own soldiers and allowed his pitiful son to cause havoc on innocent people, for fun. 

Helmeppo only gets one more syllable out before Koby’s leg rises to kick him behind the knee of his nearest leg, and the pink-haired boy doesn’t hesitate to grab the firearm out of the brat’s hand. The blonde doesn’t seem to have any more complaints except some whimpers and sheepish noises when Koby’s now the one aiming the barrel towards him. 

He doesn’t know why, but it just felt like it was meant to happen. Luffy doesn’t say another word, and seems entertained by the move Koby had made. It was almost out of character, and the straw hat-wearer was almost certain that he had to stretch his arm to punch the daylights out of the Helmet-hippo guy. 

It was a technique he had seen one of the Alvida pirates use before, when they teased each other and laughed. Behind the knees as an easy way to have someone fold their body, and it was hilarious to watch, even if Koby was an unwilling chore-boy. He keeps his laughter to himself when Helmeppo makes a ‘hic’ sound upon hitting the dirt, maroon suit certainly dirtied when he thrashes on the ground only to realize that the weapon he once had in his grasp was staring down at him. 

He only remembers that detail hours later, the three of them in the restaurant with Zoro and Luffy piling food into their stomachs. The fried rice the owner prepared is almost heavenly, and Rika is still overjoyed from the sight of Zoro actually cleaning a plate. Perhaps she’s still very excited from hearing from Luffy that Zoro ate every grain of rice in her onigiris, even if they were stomped into the ground. 

Ririka comes by to refill their cups with refreshing water, to which Koby’s greatly thankful for judging by how quickly he thanks her and sips out of his glass. 

“Whadd’ya going to do after this Koby?” 

The pinkette looks up from his cup towards Luffy, whose cheeks are inhumanly stretched with food similar to that of a chipmunk. The swordsman cringes each time Luffy speaks with his mouth obviously full, and Koby joins in when they can see the large lump of food travel down his throat. 

The thought of joining the Navy still hangs over him like a flag, a flag in the direction he obviously wants to stride towards. It’s royal blues and pearly whites, the arm salutes, the long coats, the ability to become a  _ hero _ . 

“I..” 

_ Clarse _ . Koby needs to find Clarse. 

Sure, being a marine is Koby’s dream. It has been ever since he first heard of them, he remembers parading around his home— declaring to everyone and their mother that he’d become one. 

Yet the image of Axe-Hand Morgan’s angry eyes flicker in his mind, as well as the cowardly soldiers behind him that willingly followed every corrupt order. There’s Helmeppo, who didn’t dare to reach for help and instead took this to his advantage and terrified poor people. 

_ Right _ ,  _ Commander Koby _ ?

“Um.. if you guys don’t mind,” Zoro’s careful eyes watch him, whilst Luffy spoons another serving into mouth. Koby’s plate has been long cleaned, but his spoon still clicks upon the porcelain as he fiddles. “C-can you..”

“Hurgh?” Luffy’s voice cuts him off, causing a few grains of fried rice to fly over the table, and if Zoro’s annoyance wasn’t present before, it was very much present now. 

A fist makes its way atop of the black strands of hair and punches his scalp, the boy hissing in pain. 

“Close your damn mouth when you talk!” 

A whine. “Zoro’s so mean!” 

The swordsman in question goes back to lean in his chair, strong arms crossed as he returns his attention towards the youngest at the table. There’s an assertive expression on his face as he watches Koby draw his cup away from his lips, the pinkette offering a small smile despite being nervous to meet the other’s gaze. 

“What were you saying, Koby?” 

The boy’s fairly surprised that Zoro remembered his name, however he sits up and refocuses. 

“Can you take me with you?” Koby avoids Zoro’s eyes, which are without an emotion except seemingly prompting the boy to continue. The pinkette fiddles with the end of his shirt, biting the skin of his lips softly. “I.. I need to find a friend. They’re somewhere in the East Blue, I know it.” 

Zoro thankfully doesn’t push the reasons, and instead is direct with his next question. The sound of another plate joining the pile of empty plates erupts, and Luffy is immediately onto his next large serving. 

“How far are you planning to go with us? It’s not like we’ll be making frequent stops either.” 

Koby blinks a few times, and his gaze drifts towards his glass in focus. It’s not like the East blue is that large, being very weak compared to the other seas, so the boy is at a loss for his destination. He’s never been allowed near maps, not like he had a deep interest in it either way until now. 

The pinkette sighs when Luffy’s head flops upon the wooden table, collapsed in a sleep so fast that he definitely wasn’t human. Zoro blinks at the sight, watching Luffy snore obnoxiously and letting Rika peek at the boy with eyes of concern. 

“Loguetown.” 

He finally decides, eyes squinted in certainty behind those large purple specs. 

“Isn’t that like.. the last island before crossing into the Grand Line?” 

Luffy’s up again, wide eyes boring into Koby with curiosity. The boy stifles a frightened squeak at the sudden attention from the previously asleep pirate, but swallows it in to nod. 

The straw hat wearer only grins, a soft snicker escaping his teeth before he leans in his seat and slurps up some water. 

“We’ll be picking up some more crew members you know! Might as well join my crew if you’re gonna’ be with us that long.” 

Koby immediately shakes his head, a panicked expression on his face that settles into a nervous smile. 

“I don’t think I’d have the s-strength to, plus I already have someone insistent on me joining their own crew.” 

He thinks about Clarse and his offer, yet pushes it to the back of his mind once more. He just wants to fulfill a promise, that’s all. There’s a marine base at Loguetown, he can make his decision there. 

“If they’re not on any islands here then I’ll give up, but I just want to talk with them one more time.” 

Zoro stares him down whilst Luffy is chugging a glass of water, and he’s about to ask but Luffy answers him readily. 

“Sure! Plus you’re better at navigating than me and Zoro probably are,” the ravenette offers the younger boy a smile. Koby returns the smile with a sheepish one, and watches the swordsman sigh bitterly at the reaffirmation that he was actually pretty bad at navigation. “Until we get an official navigator, welcome to the team, Koby!”

He hums while fingers grip on the threading at the ends of his shirt, “please take care of me!” 

Only a few hours was enough of a justification of how loosely Luffy and Zoro would be taking care of  _ him _ and more of Koby taking care of  _ them _ , which was strangely expected. The pinkette had to hurriedly grab the collar of Luffy’s red vest multiple times when the older boy nearly slipped into the waters below, and Zoro stretched himself out comfortably when he slipped into a sleep which wouldn’t have been a problem if Koby didn’t get a face full of boot whenever he tried to check the compass.

Their farewell from Shelltown was a kind one, where even the Marines smiled at them from the docks and Rika happily grinned alongside her mother. A gentle villager even offered them some produce for their travels, the canvas bag filled with ruby red apples and bumpy skinned oranges. Koby was quick to thank them with a polite bow, and Luffy was quicker to reach his rubber limbs towards the food. 

Thankfully, Zoro was the quickest, stopping his captain from eating up what would probably be their only food until the next island. 

“Woah Koby!” Luffy’s face is bright, resembling a child with cheeks round with baby fat and smiling wide as if he was just given candy. There’s a finger pointed at the gem-like ocean waves, where just below; there are some fishes that flick their tails side to side. “Look at ‘em!” 

The pink-haired boy doesn’t give the scaled animals more than one glance as he quickly snatches Luffy’s other hand, which was creeping not so subtly towards the bag of produce. 

“Yes Luffy,” Koby gives a squeeze to Luffy’s caught hand. “Those are some pretty cool fish!” 

The ravenette groans. 

“Please! Just one apple..!” 

There’s a snore from Zoro. 

“No! If you get one then you’ll want another apple!” 

“Well.. yeah! That’s how it works!” 

Another snore. 

“Me and Zoro will starve if you eat the entire bag!” 

“I’m the captain! Listen to me!” 

“No!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pffftt so u made it thru huh.. crazy
> 
> que romance dawn i guess, also i gotta incorporate koby into these arcs sigh this is too hard my brain


	4. the smell of tangerines followed by the sight of you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Landing in Orange town!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sigh... did you drink some watur? some aqua?
> 
> it took a little bit to update bc i was story planning,,, one piece is so much harder to explore than i thought :(

Today.. Koby learns that Luffy doesn’t have a good relationship with animals, seeing as him and Zoro are currently watching as the straw hat wearer is now flying off into the distance thanks to a large bird. His expression is full of both disappointment and disbelief, eyes staring as Luffy screams about not being able to roast the bird. 

“Should we go after him?” Zoro asks him, unimpressed eyes blinking once Luffy disappears into a small black dot. 

The pinkette lets out a small sigh, before hauling one of the paddles. 

“What else would we do?” 

There’s only a hum of agreement from the swordsman, mimicking Koby’s actions and beginning to follow his captain into the next island. Only the sound of wood hitting water filling the silence, as well as some calls from the seabirds above them as they rowed after the missing boy. It would’ve been relaxing if they didn’t hear the excited screeches from Luffy as well as a couple gunshots followed behind it.

After a while though, Koby let Zoro take over because his wimpy arms couldn’t keep up with the greenette’s rapid movement. He’s resting his aching arms, and slouches slightly whilst the swordsman gives a glance at the sight of the younger boy’s exhaustion. 

“And  _ you _ wanted to be a marine?” 

Koby’s eyes darted towards Zoro. 

“Yeah..” 

“I’m not gonna’ bully you about your muscles or anything,” another row. “But were you planning on being a chore boy or something? It’s not like you could do anything in that condition.” 

The pinkette examines his thin arms compared to the limbs of Zoro, who’s muscles were tightly being hugged by the worn white shirt of his. There’s some slight jealousy brewing, but it’s easily overtaken by admiration because to be as strong as Zoro sounds like a luxury. Years of hard training does that for a person, and Koby can only imagine the muscles he himself would gain if he trained as hard as Zoro did. As hard as any marine did. 

He offers a defeated chuckle, eyes averting. 

“I kinda was aiming to at  _ least _ be a captain..” 

Zoro lets out a snort. 

“Don't be rude!” 

“Do you want me to train you?” 

That catches him off guard, eyes staring into the hardened back of the swordsman. It’s not like a teasing comment, it was a genuine question from the gruff man, who only meets his gaze with a placid expression. He waits a moment, swallowing some saliva and getting teary eyed. 

_ Zoro is so much nicer than he thought _ ! The man in question cringes when Koby’s eyes start to glitter.  _ I’m so sorry for calling you scary and believing all those rumors _ ! 

“Y-y-you would?” He exclaims, loudly and blubbering with his hands clasped much to the distaste of the swordsman. The pinkette even dared to jump out towards the man with arms wide to embrace him, latching onto the other’s waist as Zoro continued to paddle even with the annoying weight on him. “You’re a godsend, Zoro!” 

The greenette sputters, twisting as if it’d allow him freedom but much to his distaste.

“Get the  _ hell _ off of me!” 

There’s two splashes that occur which don’t resonate from the wooden paddles Zoro was hauling; instead it was from two strangers that seemed only half alive. Their weird outfits and makeup looked familiar, yet the boy couldn’t name it. It was on the tip of his tongue too! 

The two turned to the obnoxious sounds of the paddles, moving at a speed that seemed almost impossible. 

“Help us!” One of them called, face similar to a pleading dog as the boat drew closer. 

“Please!” The other called out, barely any strength left to keep afloat. 

Zoro turned to look at Koby, meeting his eyes and prompting a question. 

Much to nobody’s surprise, the pinkette just shrugged before leaning over to yell an answer. 

“Grab on!” 

“ _ What _ !” 

The weight of two people grabbing onto the wood of the boat doesn’t sway Zoro’s frantic rowing, the air combing their hair as well as some splashes of water spraying their cheeks. 

Reaching Orange Town was just as easy as the last island, and it posed to be much larger than Shellstown had been. Yet the moment Zoro and a still sniffling Koby reached the docks, there was nobody around to greet them or just interact. It was empty, void of life. 

No lively markets, nor any functioning restaurants. 

Orange Town felt ghostly, no life yet the older man didn’t seem to question it as he strides forward with his swords clacking beside him. He’s still on guard though, a hand resting on the handles with a relaxed but attentive expression on his face. Koby wiped his nose with a handkerchief that he had found in the pocket of his shorts, blinking at the discovery before throwing it away in the nearest waste bin. If it was from Alvida’s ship, he didn’t want to take it with him. 

The satin fabric of the item leaves a feeling on his fingertips as it falls, but he finds no sympathy in his heart to pay it mind before following after a yawning Zoro. The greenette makes a stifled sound when the two pirates that followed them begin to scamper off, but it never really wasn’t their business in the first place so Koby doesn’t find himself worrying much.

If only he could remember the name of the crew behind the Jolly Roger that was etched into their accessories. 

The pinkette doesn’t hum, not making any effort to fill in the silence. It was comfortable, for the both of them as it was filled with only the sound of footsteps and the faint splashing of the sea behind them. Zoro doesn’t seem to mind the lack of conversation, so he just watches ahead and tries to ignore the irk that comes when he hears a distant  _ ‘gomuu _ !’ as well as some faint screams erupt from far within the town. 

“There he is.” Koby murmured offhandedly, referring to the dust cloud that erupted not far from them. The taller of the two nods, fingers tapping the handles of his swords decisively as he turns down an alleyway that didn’t at all turn towards where the fight happened. 

“Zoro.” 

“Hm?” 

“You’re going the wrong way.” 

Koby doesn’t comment on the greenette’s flustered attitude after his poor navigational skills are recognized so he quickly turns back towards Koby in a stride that carries more embarrassment than anger. 

“That’s.. still the wrong way.” 

This wasn’t even a joke anymore, and the speck-wearing boy was genuinely questioning if Zoro was playing games with him when he got confused on a straight path ahead of them. 

“Zoro—”

“Shut up.” 

“Pl.. Okay.” 

Koby tried his best to muffle his giggles, and god how much effort he was putting in order to not let even one sound slip out so that he wouldn’t suffer the rein that Zoro would put on him. 

Meanwhile Luffy is crammed into a cage half his size and he’s blinking dumbly at the orange haired girl who’s currently swindling the entire pirate crew around her finger, even going so far as to accept a party made just for her joining. 

He sighs an exhausted sigh when his rubbery limb doesn’t stretch far enough to reach the meat stacked high on the table, his chin in his hand in boredom before he hears a scratchy laugh from Buggy. Buggy is a pirate that Luffy’s slowly beginning to dislike, because he’s got a dumb bright red nose and he ordered his crew to not give him any food. Not to mention the quizzical look in his eyes once he landed his eyes on the worn old straw hat on his head, almost  _ sad _ if Luffy wanted to describe it. It was a party and Luffy was  _ fairly _ certain that when it was a party, everyone got a share of food. 

It’s okay though, because the orange haired girl is gonna’ join his crew! 

She glances over at him, brown eyes worried by some words from Buggy that he can’t quite make out from where he’s imprisoned. Maybe it’s his fault for not cleaning his ears regularly, but it doesn’t waver his concern for the conflicted expression splotched over her face. 

Luffy scratches his head, trying to remember her name. It’s on the tip of his tongue, he’s snapping his fingers softly in a poor attempt to get his brain going. 

The scent of gunpowder floods his nose, and the next thing that happens is a huge cannon rolling out and the cheers of the pirates are getting so much louder. It’s getting annoying, and the box that Luffy was snug in didn’t help him get any more comfortable. 

“Luffy!”  _ Ah, there’s Zoro _ !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is kinda boring omg im rlly sorry but.. nami! nami :)


	5. sproutings of a friendship, if you could call it that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the navigator and the former chore boy converse beneath a night sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> koby and nami friendship.. i wanted dat

Koby doesn’t know how to feel about Nami, aside from that she’s overwhelmingly pretty and she’s kind of cold towards the three of them. Still, she laughs along with Luffy’s antics and doesn’t fail to argue back against Zoro’s exclamations and complaints. 

She tethered the boats together and proclaimed a temporary spot as their navigator, a compass in hand as she cautiously watched them with analyzing eyes. He doesn’t like the look in her eyes when she finally lands her gaze on him, but it’s understandable. He can only imagine gazes like that in the future, from different people and various crowds. 

“Your kind of.. a loser.” 

Is what Nami tells him, the two of them on night watch because Nami couldn’t sleep and Koby thought that was the only way to make up for not being a part of the fight between the Buggy Pirates and the two self-proclaimed pirates. Koby stills upon the words, stuck between debating if it was an insult or an observation. 

“Yeah.. I kinda am..” 

“Why would you admit it!” Nami mumbles, cringing as if she could see the clouds of despair flutter around Koby. Then she sighs, sitting in her own boat with her chin in her hand. “What are you even doing with these guys anyway?” 

The pinkette’s lips go thin as a sheepish expression crosses over his face, before he leans against the rim of the boat tiredly. It’s not that big of a deal to talk about where he’s planning on going, but each time feels awkward. 

Finding an old friend was nothing compared to becoming the pirate king, and it couldn’t compare to being the strongest swordsman in the world. 

“I’m t-traveling with them until I find someone.” 

His hands twisted into the fabric of his shorts, before his eyes darted to the star-clumped sky. 

“That’s it?” He expected this response, so he doesn’t feel so bad. Nami is pouting at him, as if she was expecting a bigger and deeper response. “You couldn’t just.. go alone?” 

Koby shrugs, “I feel like someone would go insane sailing alone.” 

There’s a distant flicker of understanding in the girl’s eyes, but it’s quick. If Koby’s senses didn’t find itself spiking at the sudden sadness coming off the girl, he probably would’ve missed it. 

The boy digs through a small bag beside Zoro’s leg, pulling out a small rolled paper. He had caught it during the fight against Buggy, and he never found the right time to return the parchment. He turns back to the orange-haired girl, who’s watching him with both curiosity and boredom. 

“You dropped this while running by the way,” Koby’s smile is sideways, awkward. “I-I tried not to crumple it too much, you seemed to really want it.” 

It’s the map of the  _ Grandline _ , the one that caused Nami to get in this mess anyway. The scent of Buggy’s cosmetics is still on the paper, as well as alcohol and gunpowder. It’s not as wrinkled as she expected it to be when she takes it in her hands and rolls it out to examine it, in fact— it was rolled tightly as to not receive unnecessary crinkling. 

She risks a glance at the younger, who doesn’t return her glance and was currently busying himself with wiping the dirt off the silver compass they had nabbed a while back. 

“Thanks.” She manages to mumble out, rolling the map back up and plopping it in her own satchel of items. Koby smiles warmly as if to accept the thanks, similar to how Luffy did. Albeit it’s not as rubbery and wide as the straw hat-wearers, but it still retains its innocence and takes her aback, only just a  _ bit _ . 

“How long do ‘ya plan on staying with them?” Koby’s now snacking on an apple sliced in half, a careful hand reaching towards the girl and offering her the other half. He chews methodically, slow and quietly. 

“How long are  _ you _ staying?” Nami throws the question back whilst she accepts the fruit, noting the ‘them’ rather than ‘us’ in Koby’s words. 

The pinkette doesn’t mind the returned question, and ponders the best way to say his answer. 

“Until we get to Loguetown.”

Nami scrunches her nose. “That’s an awful long time spent sticking around these guys.” Her thumb is thrown towards the two idiots in question, which are sleeping beside each other as if childhood friends. 

_ In the back of Koby’s memories, he can see Clarse making a pillow fort underneath the kitchen table and telling him that it was an impenetrable fortress.  _

Luffy is slung over Zoro’s stomach, cheek pressed against his body and drooling into his white shirt. The older boy has his head falling behind him, arms crossed and joining Luffy’s obnoxious snoring. There’s soft sleep talking from the ravenette, eyebrows scrunching at some points as he grumbles once more that ‘no.. n.. the  _ meat _ ..’. 

“You’ll be in the same position I’m in,” Koby shrugs, holding the compass towards the moonlight to search for any more blemishes. “They’re a good exercise if you have patience problems.” 

At that, Nami laughs softly. 

A comfortable silence crosses over them, the girl finishing her share of fruit as the boy finishes cleaning the navigating device as best as he could. Luffy explained had gotten it a while back before leaving Dawn Island, though he never understood it and kept it in case he ever needed to sell it. 

“Is the hair.. natural?” 

Koby raises his head back towards Nami again, who’s pointing at his sakura locks. 

That’s a question he hadn’t heard in a long time, because his hair wasn’t all that special to him. Sure it was eye catching and he even dared to say,  _ attractive _ , but it was feminine and at some points in Koby’s life— he had thought it didn’t suit him. 

A hand makes its way into the straight locks of pink, feeling slight grease and making the boy’s face morph into contemplation. 

“It’s natural, unless my mom has been religiously dying it in my sleep.” 

Nami swallows the last bite of apple, fingers brushing her own hair. 

It’s not like his hair was special, he’s seen people with more unique hair colors. At this point in the world, he’s pretty sure that a single glance at a crowd carried more shades than the color palette. 

“I just haven’t seen a natural pinky in the East Blue.” 

_ Pinky… _

He tilts his head, his glasses falling slightly with the sudden movements. 

“Really? I thought it was more common than that.” 

“I’ve seen a majority of this blue, I’m pretty certain.” 

Koby stares into the dark water, a thoughtful expression passing his thoughts. 

It’s not like there were many pink-haired people in his home village, but his mother always said that there were a lot of people that shared the same tint in their locks even if they didn’t live on the island. 

He has no reason not to believe her; just because there’s not any in the East Blue doesn’t mean there isn’t any in the other blues, much less the Grandline. That sea was a mystery in of itself, and the pinkette wasn’t ready to try and uncover those mysteries. 

“It’s pretty.” 

Koby thinks that Nami’s talking about the moon, the stars, maybe even the night clouds that follow the soft breeze. Yet her gaze is on the boy’s hair, genuinity in her voice. 

He doesn’t register the words until moments later, Nami’s lip turning up when Koby’s hands fall over his mouth and his cheeks darkening pink. 

“T-th-th!” 

The last time he was complimented was so long ago, and it wasn’t even on his appearance. It was one of the Alvida pirates, who backhandedly said that his mopping of the deck was good and would be better if he tried  _ harder _ . 

It would’ve disheartened him, but being in that environment was  _ disheartening _ enough. 

Koby internally once again, thanks Luffy for albeit questionable but definitely welcoming entrance in the form of a barrel. 

“Now you gotta’ pay me sixteen hundred berries!” 

The pinkette gawks, hands falling and flush disappearing off his skin. 

“Wuh! For what!” He quietly retorts, eyes wide behind his purple specks. 

“For the compliment! Those ain’t free!” 

“That isn’t fair, th-that’s stealing!” 

“Are you questioning a woman’s prices? You know you should never do that to a lady!” 

“T-that’s not what I meant!” 

Luffy doesn’t stir from their barely hushed arguing, though it was more like Nami scolding Koby and Koby sheepishly accepting it whilst throwing in his own retorts. 

Zoro only blinks awake once, before letting his head fall back once more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my classes have me so drained,, but anyways nami (handshake emoji) koby 
> 
> they share the same shampoo because they have the same hair type /j /hj 
> 
> anyway, did you drink water today?


	6. the look of innocence that flickers through your eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my nail broke :( also this chapter was kinda late buuuut

Koby looks at what’s coming of the Strawhat pirates, paint on his fingers from helping Usopp paint the Jolly Roger. The sniper had an interesting relationship with blue and red, having trouble differentiating between the two colors as he tried to mix red into a more dull color for the band on the skull’s straw hat. 

“You still in?” Luffy mutters to him as he’s wiping the paint off his skin, curious black eyes burning into Koby’s own purple ones. The pink-haired boy eyes the other, before laughing and slapping the ravenette’s face with his wet rag. 

“I’ll think about it, you do remember I want to be a  _ marine _ don’t you?” 

“A future marine on a pirate ship, the ‘duality of man’ I guess.” Usopp emphasizes his comment with paint-covered fingers bouncing up and down as if quotations. 

Luffy pulls the rag off his nose and sighs, then beginning to pout. 

“But having Koby around is fun..” 

“It’s only fun because he’s the only one out of us except Sanji and probably Nami who can actually cook.” 

There's silence from Luffy, mostly because that's probably the only reason why Koby’s fun. Aside from the occasional aid that Koby does around the ship to pull his weight and not seem like a stowaway, he doesn’t really have a role. He doesn’t even have to do this work, just hide away until they’ve gotten to Loguetown. 

Instead, he’s been almost like another crew mate. Maybe not like the monster trio, who always were frontline whenever any inconvenience arrived, but he tried to help as much as possible.

He acted like a scout when Syrup Island was getting attacked by the captain of the Black Cat Pirates,  _ Kuro _ . 

He helped mend wounds for those on the Baratie, pulling unconscious chefs out of the way of the mayhem that was Gin and Sanji, as well as that big guy covered in armor and Luffy. 

Not to mention when Zoro got slashed, the green headed oaf decided that challenging a Warlord was a good way to start off the afternoon. 

(There was a moment in which Mihawk threw the small cross he had used to duel with the injured swordsman, muttering words about surpassing him. Koby didn’t retain it in his memory or attempted to hear what he was saying, mostly because the sound that the weapon excreted when it fell into Zoro’s grasp was  _ deafening _ .) 

Then Cocoyashi Island. 

Koby shakes his head at the thought, the boy running around and trying his best to avoid the Fishmen whilst having to follow the strawhats to bring their navigator back. 

(“It’s okay to ask for help.” He remembers telling Nami as she strided away, hand tightly grasping at her boa staff and refusing to look back. He didn’t doubt that she probably didn’t hear him, because his voice was rattled with anxiety and he could only muster to whisper it.)

The boy sighs as he helps Sanji carry some potatoes into the galley, the brown bulbs bouncing around the basket before the boy plops them down upon the chef’s direction. 

The Merry was much more accommodating to the pirates, albeit still small but the pinkette had a feeling that the crew liked its minimal space. It was brimming with untouched life, the crew ready to break into its wooden walls and affiliate the ship with the words “home”. 

“Marimo’s really going ham on you huh?” Sanji makes a small comment through nicotine stained lips, revealing eye watching as Koby stretched his sore arms. 

Zoro was still generous with his offer to train Koby, it’s just that.. he didn't have much experience training someone else. Especially someone weaker than himself, so he just dumped weights onto the boy and said, “ _ don’t talk to me about weights until you can raise these over your head _ .” 

Koby swears that setting those weights down caused the floorboards beneath them to squeak, to which the boy sincerely apologizes to Merry. 

“Yeah.. I guess he is..” there was also the habit that Zoro likes to exhibit, which was sitting on Koby’s back until he could reach the push-up goal. An asshole he is, but he managed to reach 10, so that’s gotta mean something right? “Has there been any change?” 

Sanji gives him a glance, a questioning one that lures him to elaborate. 

“Like.. a physical one?” 

“I mean.. you’re not as short as before. Still puny though.” 

That got a depressed expression out of Koby, midway through skinning a potato too. 

The growth in height was something to look forward to though, hopefully by the end of this he will look less like a child that was cowardly scampering around as if lost. Showing up at the Marine base looking like a brat would be kinda embarrassing, thought most marines started off like he did.. maybe. 

The pinkette’s finished with his last potato by the time Luffy bursts in, holding a fresh newspaper with a giddy smile on his face. 

“Koby, Sanji! The news-bird-thing came!” 

The two boys in the kitchen exchanged glances before answering the straw hat-wearer, as if debating what to say. Not really what, it’s  _ who’ll _ say it. 

Out of all those who were available, the blonde and Koby were the most versed in reading. Not like Usopp or Zoro wasn’t, it’s just that Luffy  _ never _ bugged them. Sanji got his skills thanks to rough kicks from Zeff whenever he misspoke or mispronounced, and Koby was obsessed with the News Coo since Clarse wasn’t there to read them after he left. 

Luffy was tricky when it came to reading, mostly because apparently he couldn’t. When asked the first time the pirate captain had asked Koby to read it out to him, the ravenette exclaimed that he was more interested in fighting animals in the forest rather than read. Though he was forced to at least have some practice, much to the insistence from a woman named Makino.

(“That was more of my brother’s type of thing! Shishishi!”)

“A-ah.. what does the headline say?” 

Luffy blinks twice, before settling beside Koby and the pile of potatoes with the paper now open wide. Eyes are squinted in focus, 

“Cha.. kay.. kay-aww-ss.. in the Grandline!” 

Sanji leaned over, knife pointed away as he examined the ink printed images before nodding approvingly after checking the headline. 

“What’s happening?” 

Luffy laughs, a finger pointing at Zoro’s name which was bolded as it was the start of a far paragraph. 

“They’re talking about how Zoro broke out and what happened at Cocayabi!” 

“You mean Cocoyashi?” 

“Yeah, that!” 

Somewhere in Loguetown, someone is dragging a group of unconscious people through the concrete and the hard floors of the large and overarching marine base. The sound of chains follow the stranger, who ignores the glances of passing marine grunts in favor of counting the bounties in his available hand. 

“Here to reap your rewards again?” 

Tashigi gives the stranger a shy smile as she approaches him, her sword clattering at her side gently when she joins in his casual walk down the hall. 

“Yeah,” he smiles, politely whilst also retaining the laziness in his eyes. “I hope Smoker’s available..  _ and _ didn’t flood his office with smoke.” 

The captured men behind them groaned, though a sharp tug from the chains did well to silence them once more. It’s their fault for getting caught in the first place, especially with bounties on their heads. Who would’ve thought that staying in piracy is way harder than most believe. 

“I’m sure he’s available, he’ll probably insist that you be a marine again.” 

A laugh escapes the man, hand using the stack of bounties as a fan. 

“And I’ll always say that I’ll think about it.” 

The two share some laughter, Tashigi’s hands behind her and the man simply following the same old route to the Captain’s office. The swordsman was enjoyable company once she had someone to genuinely chat with aside from the other soldiers stationed in Loguetown, mostly because they didn't really have interest in the sprouting swordsman. 

Though the bounty hunter wasn’t a marine and didn’t appear to have an honorable moral compass, he was as close of a friend that Tashigi could call while living in the East Blue. Plus he was smooth with conversations, always knowing the wrong and right things to say. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway did u drink water also yeah what if i did skip over some arcs bitch i ain’t writing those y’all got me fucked upppp
> 
> happy late valentines day too i hope y’all stayed inside bc if bitches went out during this panoramic oooo ima be mad


	7. thoughts brewing like another jug of booze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Koby reminisces as the Strawhats draw closer to their final stop before riding into the Grandline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahha wow.. what a fast update hahaha *averts eyes*

“Who’s the person you’re traveling for?” 

It’s a question Koby gets from Usopp, the two of them out of the bunks and lounging beneath the night sky. It’s because Koby can never sleep and Usopp volunteered to take night watch, so they’re on the deck of the ship whilst Merry sleepily rocks upon the waves. 

“A friend. A r-really, really close friend.” 

Talking about Clarse started off weird, mostly because all the ‘Clarse’ in Koby’s head is a boy who looked towards the sea as if enchanted. 

Some mornings during their youth, he’d find the boy sat upon one of the many boulders faced towards the beach; eyes closed and listening to each slap of the waves, a pondering smile on his face like he was being told a fascinating bedtime story. Oftentimes Koby would join him, scooting his way onto the rock and listening for whatever made the older boy so at ease. 

Koby tells Usopp about what he hears from the ocean, albeit through stutters and unsure comments, but it wasn’t a lie. 

The songs from the oceans that Koby heard throughout his childhood were never a lie, the laughter from the wind that ruffled his hair and cooled his skin in the summer weren’t imagination. The waves direct him in all types of directions, naming islands that Koby didn’t have the maps to ever find. 

He’d tell Clarse about all the strange things, only to receive a curious head tilt and the boy’s usual question if Koby somehow snuck into the pub’s selections of alcohol and got himself drunk. 

“It talks?” Usopp looked out towards the ocean before turning back to the younger boy, albeit suspiciously and even disbelieving. 

“Not really, it’s hard to describe!” Koby will reply, sipping his glass of water so that he wouldn’t go parched telling more. 

The pinkette tells Usopp about Clarse’s careful pronunciation when reading newspapers, a habit that Koby adopted before the boy moved away. How his finger always tapped upon the paper when he got to a troubling word, before he'd sound it out and grin when he mastered it. Then he’ll ask Koby to get his mother’s old and definitely outdated dictionary, which seemed so boring until it was Koby’s turn to learn. 

Koby tries to paint a picture for the artist beside him, talking about what Clarse looked like when the dirt smeared on his face and when he laughed at the world. 

The sunlight kissing the freckles on his cheek and the stick always clutched in his hand, the happy smile on his face whenever he asked Koby the same old question. 

(“ _ Wanna be a pirate with me _ ?” )

“In the same way that Luffy does, except  _ quieter _ . Just enough that only you can hear it.” 

Usopp blinks, before rubbing his nose and smiling when he understands. 

“I can feel him in the blue,” Koby thanks the sea for always whispering to him reassurances that he’ll get something out of this trip, splashes that seem impossible to decipher. “He hasn’t been on any of the islands you guys have stopped at, so I can only hope he’ll be on the next or the one after that.” 

One of the things that Koby hopes is that Clarse isn’t taller than him, because that would be mortifying. 

“How do you know it’ll be him?” 

Usopp asks, which is a genuinely good question. 

“I mean like.. he was your childhood friend who moved away from what I’m assuming  _ years _ ago, what if he’s completely unrecognizable?” 

Koby hasn’t seen or heard from Clarse for over five years, which comes with change. Clarse might not be the same easygoing and teasing boy from the beach of their home island, just as much as Koby isn’t the same brat who yelled to the world atop of a shoddy boulder that he’ll be the best Marine that the Navy could ask for. Well maybe he still is, but he’s put that dream on hold for a bit. 

“I-I’m sure I’ll know when it’s him.” 

“What’ll you do then?” 

Koby blinks once, twice, three times. 

The boy wants to say something, but it’s getting hard. Mostly because this trip has opened his eyes more than any has before, full of both the fun and the terrible. 

He doesn’t know what he’ll do after, aside from most likely scampering off to the Marine base at Loguetown and settling for what he’s dreamed of since a little boy. Since he was kicking up sand, laughing beneath tree leaves, listening to the sea. 

Koby doesn’t realize that his own lips turn down at the thought of Marines. 

All this trip has done is show Koby the corrupt side of his childhood heroes, the ill intentions brewed beneath the white coat and blue stripes. Maybe he shouldn’t have stayed so oblivious to the rumors of money over justice, power over being a savior, because he’s seeing that more than he had expected to. 

He watched the dark and fearful looks cross over civilian’s faces when the mere mention of Axe-Hand Morgan was muttered into the air, reminding them of his tyrannical presence along with the son that foolishly terrorized those beneath him just because he had his father. 

Koby remembers the snarky expression on Fullbody’s face when he put the bug in Sanji’s soup, and how deserving it was when Sanji kicked his face so that it’d meet the cold floor of the Baratie.

The Marine that was supposed to protect Cocoyashi, instead he extorted money from Nami and feigned ignorance when Luffy was finished punishing Arlong. It was almost scary, no it  _ was _ . 

To think that justice was so twisted in this generation, full of strangers who salivated when the very people they were supposed to be shields for civilians when they cowered beneath them in fear. 

There’s something that brews in Koby when he reaffirms to himself that he’ll be a  _ good _ marine, but something in him finds that he can’t believe that. 

As good as a marine you are, something’s  _ bound _ to go wrong. The relieved expressions that fell over Shelltown’s own marines was evidence of that, people that knew they were doing bad and knew better than this yet had no choice or they’d die. Koby wonders how many people fell under this system and paid the price for it. 

That’s why he put that dream on hold, because it’d feel wrong to remember seeing Nami’s frozen expression as Nezumi seized her treasure— only to dawn the uniform and proudly smile. 

“I don’t know what I’ll do after.” Koby admits softly, mostly to himself but Usopp’s still kindly listening. 

The skin of the specked boy’s lips wears under his recent biting, which he doesn’t even seem to notice himself. It’s a habit he’s exhibited since aboard the Merry, mostly because the Strawhats sometimes spike his anxiety through the roof. 

Luffy is often the culprit, because Koby can’t even count on his fingers how many times he’s had to reach for his friend and grapple his shirt so that it’d stop him from falling overboard because ‘ _ look this fish looks so cool _ !’ 

He sighs, and gets a sympathetic pat on the shoulder from Usopp. The sniper’s gentle pat was more than welcome, getting Koby to even lean into the touch. Out of most of those aboard aside from Luffy, he felt as if Usopp had the most comfort to him. 

Sure he was sheepish and most definitely cowardly, but that was in physical battles. When it came to the mind, surely the sniper had a talent for emotional companionship. Luffy had the same talent, except he came to others instead of waiting for the other to come to him. 

He strides brazenly into souls, lips stretched into a smile and the straw hat on his head waving thanks to the wind. 

Zoro, Nami, Sanji, they’ve all fallen victim to the strawhat captain’s smile. Koby forgets to put Usopp on that list as well, because he merged happily with the ravenette. 

He wonders what Clarse would think about Luffy. About the strawhat crew as a whole.

The next morning is full of pondering for Koby, as they get to an island second to Loguetown. 

He thanks Sanji for the wonderful breakfast, to which the chef smiles back and gives him just a  _ little _ extra juice. 

He’s able to lift Zoro’s weights over his head, and it gets a satisfied smirk out of the swordsman. It’s actually kind of nice that he’s made  _ some _ sort of progress. 

Nami lets the pinkette watch her plot out the quickest course to Loguetown, though she does it half heartedly because the wind will take them wherever the wind has to. 

Koby watched Usopp tinker away at whatever he’s tinkering, experienced hands shaving away at wood to create another sculpture. 

Luffy smiles at him from where he sat atop Merry’s head, the straw hat’s brim flowing loosely and the sun carving around his figure. They chatter away at whatever eats at their minds, to which Luffy’s rubber hand slaps Koby’s back gently and a soft ‘ _ don’ worry about it!’ _ leaves his lips. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think this is a chapter that had to be written for a while, mostly because i had to reaffirm koby’s hesitancy and his growing decline to be a marine 
> 
> also i think it’s pretty obvious why the voice of all things is in the tags bc i think it’s funny


	8. gol d. roger’s resting place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something about Loguetown sings to Koby, whispers to him with words unintelligible and unfamiliar. A part of him feels like he’ll finally find who’s he’s looking for here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well.. two chapters in one day lol

The smell of rum and salty air fills Loguetown, sweet whilst also radiating a certain type of aura to it. The music of the island doesn’t come from a voice, rather it begins at the docks and gets heavier when approaching the infamous execution platform. 

Koby watches Nami and Usopp step off first, though Zoro is lured after the promise of money he can use to replace his shattered swords. Luffy immediately springs out, bouncing on his feet as he met the docks— hands on his hips and a look on his face as if he just came home. 

“You planning to go out too?” Sanji asks him, hand in his pocket and a cigar in the other. 

“This is my final stop,” the pinkette hums as he glances towards the open market. He can see people of all heights, bodies, hair colors. Distantly, he wonders if the sea is correct to tell him that his friend is somewhere in this town. “Might as well.. try my luck.” 

The chef takes an inhale after his cigarette, before he discards the bud over the railing of the boat and watches it fall into the waters. 

“Come back if you find something.” There’s a smile on Sanji’s face as Koby begins to climb down carefully. The smile is knowing, the suave type that the blonde bears to the world. It makes the specked boy return it with a shy smile of his own. 

“Of course!” 

It’s been an hour since the Strawhats split up across town, all bringing chaos to them or finding chaos themselves. 

Luffy is staring up at a burly white-haired man, who radiates the smell of cigarettes similarly to how Sanji does, only this guy is heavy with it. The stiff expression on his face was intimidating to some, but apparently not to the strawhat pirate as Luffy went straight up to the man and grinned a toothy grin. 

“Do you know where the platform is?” He interrupts the muscular man’s thoughts, to which the stranger looks down at him whilst chewing on his cigar. 

Then the ravenette offers him open eyes and a stance that screams his confidence, which only seems to confuse the nicotine-scented man more. 

He sighs, a defeated one. Smoker isn’t one to find children enjoyable, but like most adults; he couldn’t really turn down innocent smiles and doe eyes. 

“Just follow the smoke.” He directs, to which the straw-hatted boy turns and excitedly awes. It’s an understandable reaction as devil fruits were considered a  _ myth _ , so seeing one must’ve been exhilarating for the brat. 

The kid scampers off after it, waving bye and offering one more happy smile before disappearing. 

In another part of town, Nami is bargaining with a shopkeeper as Usopp watches in both amazement and disbelief. 

The orange haired girl is making ridiculous deals, and her persuasive tone when demanding is almost believable. It’s almost like she was right, that she deserves to get half of the store’s most expensive clothes at the cost of it all being 80% off. 

“P-please ma’am! I can't really be that generous!” 

“I thought stores were supposed to value customers!” Nami points an accusatory finger at the man behind the counter, who freezes up and lets a pout come over his face. 

Usopp just continues to watch as the man suffers under the navigator's tirade, which doesn’t show any evidence of stopping anytime soon. Until the huge pile of clothes were set into bags and Nami was allowed to stride out of here with at least half of the clothes selection. 

The sniper knows that the woman will be fine by herself, as she’s pressured the man to start folding the clothing and smiling innocently when he’s finished with the first bag of product. 

So Usopp wanders, until he’s found himself in front of a gadget shop with its owner smiling widely. 

Loguetown is actually quite comforting,  _ comfortable _ . People pass by with acknowledging nods, whether strangers or a familiar face. 

Customers will bargain and laugh, tossing berries over the counter in exchange for everyday necessities. There’s fishermen and traveling sailors, who have their hands in their pockets and are examining what the town has to offer. 

Even if this is where Roger had died years ago, it retains a magical aura to it. 

Koby follows where the sun shines, passing by the fish and meat market with curious eyes. There’s all types of catches laying on racks of ice, some that still twitch with life but will eventually meet the sharp end of a knife. He wipes his drool away when thinking about sautéed fish, especially if it’s done by someone as passionate as Sanji. 

Still, it was nice to see the variations of meat that are displayed for all to see. Distantly he sees Sanji, prodding at a fresh fish with the cigarette still between his teeth yet he’s smiling wide. 

“Would you like one?” Someone spoke, making Koby turn his head and see the soft grey eyes of a woman holding out a cooked kebab towards him. Her hair is like blue sea glass, running down her right shoulder in a loose ponytail tied by a rosy pink ribbon. 

Koby flushed after he realized that he was yet to answer. 

“U-um, I can't pay..” 

She smiles at his flustered tone, still respectful. 

“It’s alright,” she wraps the base of the wooden stick with a napkin, before lending the food out further towards the boy. “I like to treat newcomers.” 

She’s got a motherly tone to her voice and a lovely smile upon Koby’s acceptance of the treat, his shy eyes rising to return the smile with his own lop-sided one. 

“Thank you!” He hummed, bowing softly and beginning to walk away. 

He doesn’t make it a few steps when the woman calls him again. 

“Ah Koby,” he turns his head, blinking and seeing her face sculpt itself into a closed-eyes smile. Albeit it’s smaller, softer. “I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for in the farmer’s market.” 

The pink-haired boy’s lips morph into a small ‘o’, before nodding and thanking her again before breaking into a small jog with the kebab in between his teeth. 

He’s a far distance away when it hits him, eyes growing wide and darting back into the crowd following into the fish market. 

_ He never told her his name _ . 

Usopp is finished with his duel against Daddy-the-Father, fingers shaking wobbly as he’s given the goggles. They’re weighty in his hands, and he gets a sense that he’ll be with these guys for a while. 

The older gunslinger tells him a snippet about his own father, Yassop, who’d supposedly appreciate his son. 

Something twists in Usopp, because it’s been years since he’s seen the man and even if most of what he held for him was  _ admiration— _ he held just as much disappointment for the man.  _ Does he even know that mom died _ ? 

A shake on the shoulder from Nami, who’s shouting at him and screaming because “Usopp you just won against Daddy- _ THE _ -Father!” 

A loose chuckle escapes the curly haired boy, sheepish and a bit embarrassed by the attention. There’s passerby who congratulate him, one sticks out though. 

“You’re good.” The man says, youthful face speckled with subtle brown freckles as the side bangs of his brown hair curled into his cheeks. There’s a chain linked around his hips and around his neck, disappearing beneath his burgundy coat as he stood a few inches taller than the boy. Usopp feels like he’s being analyzed and Nami stands firm beside him as recognition comes over her face slowly. 

“I can’t wait to see what you’ll do in the future.” He laughs, scarred hands pocketing in his pockets before walking away with an enthusiastic smile. 

The sniper and the navigator remain quiet, mostly because they’re still wrapped in the warm bubble that the stranger hovered over them and Usopp is dealing with some inner conflict. 

“W-Why do I feel like I’ve seen him before?” The ravenette asks, turning to the girl who’s lips fell into a tight line and her eyes were glowing with anxiety. 

“I wouldn’t have thought that there’d be two big name bounty hunters in the same town.” 

Is all Nami offers as the wind glides over them. 

By the time Zoro makes it to the sword seller, the woman that looks a bit too much like Kuina has become more like a thorn rather than a comforting guide. The iron scent of blades greets him, leaving the swordsman satisfied. 

“The hell you mean you can’t replace these! If you can’t even do that then at least recommend me an adequate blacksmith!” A voice aggravatingly argues at the front desk, hands slapping the table along with the sound of chains colliding with the wooden counter. The man is hovering over the poor shop owner, who seemed to be too familiar with the other as he opens his mouth to retort. 

“I told you I’m a damn arms salesman! I only get the product, not study it! Get the hell off my case you brat!” 

Tashigi, who was previously still awing at Zoro’s prized sword is now grinning at the person and strangely, Zoro is doing the same only it's much more like a smirk rather than a smile. 

“This is why I never come here! You’re never helpful!” 

“I merely own the shop! What use would I be!” 

In the grocer’s market, Koby can smell the sweet scent of fruits and vegetables alike. There’s different types of people behind their respective stands, some smoking cigars and some already drunk. Someone’s selling caramelized apples, which litters a sugary scent all over. 

The kebab stick is now being chewed between Koby’s teeth, rid of all the meat and juice so now it’s just suffering as a result of the boy’s growing anxieties. Just as the lady said, the wind also believes that he’ll find something here. The crunch of vegetables mixes in the sound, as well as people lively chatting and calls of discounted produce. The boy is turning his head right and left, just looking for someone familiar. 

Someone calls out to him to come buy their prized pumpkins, another yells  _ ‘hey pinky!’ _ so that he’d draw his attention to their stand full of fruits of all types of colors. 

A final voice is gruff from age and fatherly, accompanied by the small bottle of what Koby recognizes as a popular brand of sugarcane juice. 

“Koby! Is that you?” 

He’s not exactly what the pinkette was looking for, but it’s close. _Exhilaratingly_ close. 

There’s more grey hairs that the boy remembers, along with heavy crows feet but the beard is still there and the recognition is obvious amongst Koby’s face. 

“You brat!” He cheerily laughs. 

It’s Clarse’s father. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen i was bored and and and.. yeah
> 
> did u drink water btw? anyway we’re super close to meeting clarse again! and for those who wondered no he’s not dead if it wasn’t obvious.. he’s just.. a bit weird. i wanted to introduce him more indirectly but well


	9. the fate of a straw hat and purple framed glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conclusion to Loguetown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y’all drank water yet

Luffy is staring up at the platform, which looks upon Loguetown with a sense of nostalgia. The worn wooden structure that holds memories dating back fifty years ago, along with an overwhelming presence that seems to smile down at him. 

The wind kicks up his hat and almost flies off, though his ever careful grasp stops it from fluttering away. Understandably, it reveals his determined eyes and gummy-wide smile. 

(Somewhere in the world, the Red-Haired Shanks is laughing at an unamused Den Den Mushi, who sports similar makeup as its caller. 

“Of course you would crown a ‘D’ to be the next king.” Buggy scoffs on the other end, almost impressed. It wasn’t like he didn’t know who Monkey D. Luffy was, as he was victim to the years in which his brother would blabber about ‘Little Anchor’  _ this _ and ‘Little Anchor’  _ that _ . 

“So you admit that you expected it!” The red haired captain laughed, would’ve slapped his knee if he had his other arm. “Did he do well on your lil’ ‘test’?” 

“Passed good enough, I can see why you would choose the rubber brat.” The Mushi’s eyes are directed to the right, Buggy most likely fiddling with something in his hand. It was a habit that never seemed to go away, something that always occurred whenever he was thinking deeply. “Definitely does act like  _ him _ .” 

Shanks gave a solemn smile, “most definitely.”)

Luffy’s tempted to scale the landmark, and he does. He stretches his rubber limbs long and grins widely as he grapples upon the sides of the platform, ignoring gasps from all around and  _ climbs _ . 

The wood is rough against his rubber palms, people are shouting that he should get back down, yet Luffy’s enjoying the sea-sprinkled air that kicks his bangs around his face and the smile only seems to stretch larger. 

“Get down from there!” Another person screams at him. 

Less people are gathering in the farmer’s market by now, trickling out because of a commotion that Koby has a feeling involves someone he knows. Though the boy isn’t focused on that, he’s now behind the wooden display of fruits with the older man, who’s popping another bottle of sugarcane juice for the other. The drink spills over just a little bit, only because the man happily tosses it to the pinkette and Koby’s never been good at games of catch. 

“You.. look old.” Koby comments, looking as the man tucks an envelope of money into a wooden box, which he could only assume held the earnings from the fruit stand. 

Mr. Glandi’s laughter is refreshing, scratchy and definitely aged. 

“That’s what adulthood does to you,” the bearded man jokes, tucking the money box on a crate below the fruit display. “Running business here is a good way to sprout grey hairs if you’re interested.” 

“Have mercy,” Koby sips his drink shakily, “I’m only sixteen, I haven’t accepted the reality of real life yet.” 

All that answers Koby is another laugh, before it turns into a warm hum and the man makes himself comfortable on his own seat facing the pinkette. Looking at him, he’s looking a bit more worn and tired than the last time Koby had seen him. 

Mr. Glandi was always similar to that of a bear; large and comforting to be around. He’s easily able to sling Koby by the collar of his shirt and able to toss Clarse into the air even when he was hitting his preteens. He often wore button ups with eye catching colors, carried crates of fresh produce, and was the man that you called when you had a broken plank in the ceiling. From the brim of Koby’s purple specks, he couldn’t see much difference aside from the obvious signs of age. 

“What brings you here? I surely hope you didn’t sail without Niochi’s knowledge.” 

Koby shrunk, wondering the best way to put it. 

“I-I wasn’t willingly on the sea at first,” he started, hands clutching the glass bottle. “I was offered a chance to find Clarse, so I took it. Who knew that you’d be here on the last island before the Grandline.” 

“Willingly? Oh, you  _ would _ get kidnapped.” 

The pinkette took on a depressed expression when the man laughed, seemingly already knowing. Then again this was one of the people who watched him grow up, so maybe it wasn’t surprising for him to come to that conclusion. 

“That aside, I’m glad you came safe.” The man gave a respective smile, lips making the curled facial hair follow the movement. If Koby sat closer, he doesn’t doubt that the man would be ruffling his hair affectionately like he always did when he was younger. 

There’s a sadness to him though, a resolved one but Koby can see that it’s weaved itself onto the man’s shoulders. 

“Did.. did something happen?” 

There’s a silence after Koby asks this, the crowds and people all around that are speaking suddenly grow faraway and all the boy can focus on is the stiffness growing on Mr. Glandi’s smile. After a small gust of wind blows over the town, allowing the worn and handmade banner in front of the fruit stand to flutter up and brush over most of the passerby. 

The specked boy’s lips are thin, because in this question he’s also asking about Clarse’s mother. She had been the reason why they left in the first place, too sick to stay in the care of the village doctor and instead sailing to where a better doctor was stationed. 

“She passed away two years ago,” Mr. Glandi admits, his glass now half empty. Koby’s about to speak, maybe mumbles of condolences and questions because she couldn’t have possibly died. The brunette cuts him off though, letting the boy only a squeak of whatever he was going to say. “As did Clarse.” 

Koby freezes, body stilling when the grieving father in front of him leans back into his chair more tired than he was so much earlier. He’s about to shout denials, crazed words, because he didn’t come on this voyage just to find out his goal  _ died _ . 

“Stop telling everyone I  _ died _ !” A hand slaps over the father’s shoulder, which prompts Koby to see the man with his lips tightly shut, holding in his laughter, the stranger beside him who appears almost disappointed. 

The newcomer has a leather bag over his shoulder, and a mature but familiar face. 

Clarse’s hands place themselves over his hips when Mr. Glandi breaks into heavy laughter, hand slapping his knee at Koby’s shell-shocked face. 

The other boy is definitely different now, not just because of the large scar splotched over his left cheek but his height and so many things. Clarse’s hair was still messily strewn everywhere, but it retained a semblance of character as his side bangs curled into his face and seemed bouncy.

The breeze picks up. 

“I thought it’d be funny!” The older gentleman is still laughing. 

“You practically traumatized him, he looks like he’s seeing a ghost!” 

There’s some freckles on his face, brown and barely visible now that he stepped underneath the fruit stand. 

Even with these changes, it’s not like Koby seems to find anything different about the way his friend faces him and gives him a smile worthy of a reunion. It’s the same smile when Koby would meet Clarse halfway towards the beach of their home island, sun gleaming and preparing for another imaginary adventure. 

“It’s good to see you again Koby!” The younger brunette beams, tossing his bag beside his father’s chair and making himself comfortable. 

The pink-haired boy swallows nothing, but gets his face to morph from its previous shocked expression and returns the smile. 

“It’s gr-great to see you too!” 

Although the storm picks up, more and more by the second. People are beginning to pack their products and close up shop, customers are starting to flood out. 

_ A storm is coming _ , someone says. 

_ A storm is coming _ , the wind whispers to Koby. 

_ A ‘D’ is causing a storm _ , the first raindrop sings to him, which prompts Koby to snap out of his reminiscing and towards where from a distance— he sees Usopp dragging a large fish(what?) and Nami running despite the growing rainfall. 

“There’s someone on the execution platform!” The boy finally hears, turning his head towards a man running through with a newspaper hanging over his head. “There’s pirates!” 

Clarse hums, wiping a raindrop that slapped against his cheek thanks to the steady breeze before spotting Koby’s stiff expression. The younger boy plops his sugarcane juice down, pulling his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose and muttering a soft ‘ _ god Luffy, what did you do now _ ?’ 

The boy in question has his head stuck and Buggy standing menacingly over him, which annoys him because he was here to declare that he’ll be the king and not to be killed. It didn’t help that the smoker guy is below, waiting for Buggy to chop his head off and the rain— this was getting too stressful for Luffy to think about. 

The clown pirate’s foot is keeping the wooden thing clasped around Luffy’s wrists and neck, really uncomfortable and it was annoying the rubber boy just how strong the man was to keep the accessory trapped on him. 

There’s thunder, rain, a  _ storm _ . It’s brewing above the town and pelting it’s citizens, it’s now soaking Luffy's shirt and his straw hat. 

“Hey,” Luffy looks towards Buggy. “Why does a brat like you wanna be the damned Pirate King?” 

It could be easily lost in the sounds all around them, like the sword clashing from Zoro and the hard thumps of kicks from Sanji, like the rain or screams. 

The ravenette, even in this situation has the gull to smile up at his enemy and laughs. 

“To be free!” 

It’s then that Buggy blinks before returning the smile, raising his sword and at first people below think it’s to commence the execution but then there’s a flash of bright light erupting from the clouds and— 

Zoro’s shouting that Luffy’s a dumbass, Sanji’s cigarette finally goes out thanks to the rain, Smoker’s ordering his men to start charging in, Nami is cursing the sudden change in weather, Usopp is heaving because of the fish that their chef dumped on them, Koby is sprinting through the crowds of escaping people with his shoes slapping puddles, and then the execution platform  _ crumbles _ . 

There’s laughter in the midst of the storm, from Luffy jumping out of the burned planks of wood as if he was truly invincible and from Koby, who watched as his friend surprises those around him again for however many times he’s surprised the world. 

_ I’ll see you again _ , Luffy’s eyes seem to say when he meets Koby’s eyes from across the havoc that was the former execution platform. 

Koby nods with a grateful smile,  _ Of course _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so like.. this concludes romance dawn i guess
> 
> it was rlly quick but i wanted to get this all over with. ill tell u that romance dawn was so fucking hard to write and this chapter was probably shit but yuuuughhhhhhh.

**Author's Note:**

> pfffffft so maybe im unoriginal for using an oc but i kinda already have this fic formatted in my noggin..


End file.
